US flying armed drones over Baghdad – official

Smoke billows from an area controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) between the Iraqi towns of Naojul and Tuz Khurmatu, both located north of the capital Baghdad, on June 26, 2014. (AFP Photo / Karim Sahib)

The US military is flying “a few” armed drones over Iraq’s capital in order to defend diplomats and American troops serving there, a senior US official has confirmed.

"For the last 24 to 48 hours, we've started that," an
anonymous official told AFP.

Any decision to attack Sunni extremists from the Islamic State of
Iraq and the Levant (ISIS/ISIL) would have to be sanctioned by
President Barack Obama. Therefore, there are currently no plans
to use the drones in airstrikes, officials said.

The sources called the presence of the drones “force
protection.” Last week, Obama said he was ready to take
targeted military action if necessary.

Currently, US forces in Iraq are focused on working out the state
of the Iraqi military and the Sunni extremists on the
battlefield. There are around 500 American military personnel
there who are drawn from special operations forces. A fresh batch
of 180 military advisors have also just arrived.

In addition to the drones over Baghdad, piloted and unmanned
aircraft are carrying out 30-35 surveillance flights a day, some
of which include F-18 fighter jets that are flying from the USS
George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier in the Gulf.

US officials also told Reuters on Friday that a joint US-Iraq
operations center in Baghdad is set to open next week, and will
be staffed by about 90 personnel.

The situation in Iraq has significantly deteriorated throughout
the month of June as Sunni militants spearheaded by ISIS push
south towards the capital Baghdad, taking major cities in the
north of the country like Tikrit and Mosul.

More than 1,000 people have already died at the hands of the
Sunni extremists, according to the UN.

Satellite imagery and photographs have confirmed that ISIS has
carried out a number of mass executions in the northern city of
Tikrit, according to a report by the Human Rights Watch.

The New York-based rights group estimates that between 160 and
190 men were killed in at least two locations near Tikrit between
June 11 and June 14.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry has demanded that
Iraqi officials form an inclusive government if Baghdad wants to
gain support from Washington.

The alienation of Sunnis from Shia Prime Minister Nuri
al-Maliki’s government was part of the initial cause for
bitterness among Iraq's Sunni population. Maliki’s Shiite State
of Law coalition won the most seats in the April election, but
needs the support of Sunnis and Kurds to form a government.